Changing the Way We Eat

This month I had the good fortune of attending TEDx Manhattan: Changing the Way We Eat. There were many inspirational speakers working to change the U.S. industrial food system and addressing the inequities in food security in this country.

One of the exciting moments for me was talking to Bill Yosses, the executive pastry chef at the White House. I had met him before when I went on the White House Fall Social Garden Tour in October last year. At TEDx he spoke about cooking with kids and integrating science curriculum into cooking classes. At the break I got a chance to speak with him. I handed him a recipe card I made from one of our Chef in the Classroom visits last year. The recipe was for Super Delicious, Extra Nutritious Carrot Brownies from Mrs. Quick's 2nd grade class. He looked at it and said, "Carrot Brownies...looks like an interesting recipe, I'll have to try and make it." 

Well folks, the Obamas may be eating one of Haldane's Chef in the Classroom recipes!

If you are interested in hearing any of the speakers from  TEDx Manhattan 2013, they will be available online shortly. In the meantime, I highlighted a few of the speakers I found most thought-provoking.

The event opened with LaDonna Redmond the Senior Program Associate in Food and Justice at the Institute for Agriculture and Trade Policy. She is a long-time community activist who has successfully worked to get Chicago Public Schools to evaluate junk food, launched urban agriculture projects, started a community grocery store, and worked on federal farm policy to expand access to healthy food in low-income communities. "There has never been a fair, just, healthy food system in America," she said. "It is easier to buy a semi-automatic weapon in the South Side of Chicago than a tomato."

Simran Sethi has been named one of the top ten "eco-heroes" of the planet by the UK's Independent and lauded as the "environmental messenger" by Vanity Fair. Simran Sethi is an award-winning journalist, strategist and educator. She talked about seeds. I'll highlight some of her talking points: 

- Seeds are sex. Sex is the act that causes life to begin so seeds are in essence sex packets. Seeds are the building blocks of every meal we eat: fruits, vegetables, grains, and the meats that are raised on grasses and grains. But more than just food, they are cotton for clothes, corn for fuel, wood for shelter, and plants for medicine. Yet half of the calories consumed in the U.S. come from just four crops: rice, wheat, potatoes, and corn. There are 80,000 types of seeds, 850 are farmed for crops. But only 30 species make up 95% of our caloric intake. Since 1900, 75% of all crop varieties have disappeared. As stated by Wendell Berry, eating is an agricultural act. We must eat food to save it.

Peter Lehner the Executive Director of NRDC spoke about food waste in America. Forty percent of food grown in this country isn't eaten. One-fifth of what goes into a landfill is food. Six billion pounds of food are wasted on farms per year. The average American family throws out 25 pounds of food per month. Yet, nearly 50 million Americans today (one in four children) don't know where there next meal is coming from.

Cheryl Kollin talked about her project: Farm to Freezer - a partnership with Bethesda Cares that addresses surplus fresh produce, hunger, and food waste. This social enterprise preserves donated fresh, local food at its peak ripeness; provides healthier food for Bethesda Cares' homeless client meals; supports local farmers; reduces food waste; provides community service opportunities; and raises local awareness about homelessness, nutrition, and locally-grown food. 

Ann Cooper, a graduate of the Culinary Institute of America, often referred to as the "Renegade Lunch Lady" gave a rousing talk about changing school food and the growing farm to school movement.

All in all, it was a great day with great people, great food, great conversations, and great motivation to keep on plugging along, working for positive change.

Cheers!

Sweet Potato Biscuits. Get 'em while they're hot!

Last Wednesday, third grade students at the Garrison School met with Chef Laurie Gershgorn from Healthy Culinary Creations and transformed local sweet potatoes into savory biscuits.

Everyone had a task to do. 

Step One: Read the recipe.

Students were assigned different stations – measuring, mixing, blending and preparing for baking.  

Some of the students didn't like raisins and walnuts, so two batches were made – one with raisins and walnuts and one plain.

After eating the biscuits warm out of the oven, the students gave them a very enthusiastic thumbs up. 

The children are looking forward to having these savory, warm biscuits on the menu next month when the PTA lunch team serves them with their meal.

As Easy as Pie

Do you want to know the secret to making a flakey pie crust? Ask a first grader at Haldane Elementary School. Last week, the first graders got a visit from Chefs Sarah Garcia and Matt Sporer, students and Slow Food members of the Culinary Institute of America.

For the month of February, Haldane featured local apples for their Chef in the Classroom program. Chef Sarah, pastry chef in-training at the CIA, brought in her recipe to make mini apple pies with the first graders.

Using a variety of local apples, Chefs Sarah and Matt put the kids to work peeling and slicing.

Yes, six year-olds can use knives. Chef Matt gave the kids a quick lesson in knife safety.

While Chef Matt worked with one group squeezing the lemon juice then cooking the apples with butter, sugar and cinnamon...

Chef Sarah taught another group how to make a flakey pie crust: Flour, butter and ice water. Don't over mix, and don't worry if you see little chunks of butter in the dough. (Chef Sarah explained to us the secret or should I say science to a flakey crust: When the crust is baking in the oven, the bits of butter create pockets of steam that give the crust the flakey layers.)
Next, quickly form the dough into a ball and let it rest in the refrigerator for at least an hour.

Chef Sarah brought in dough she made ahead of time and rolled it out with the kids. Everyone got a chance cutting the circles,

adding the filling,

brushing the pastry with an egg wash, then

pinching the pies closed and edging them with a fork.

While this was going on, Chef Matt was whipping up some heavy cream – the hard way – with a whisk.

How do you know when the cream is ready? Flip the bowl upside down over your head and count to 10. If it isn't ready... well I'll let you fill in the blanks.

Mini Apple Pies with fresh whipped cream. Yum yum!

Later that day, head cook Elsa in the kitchen prepares the mini pies for the school-wide taste test. Over 400 little pies!

Was it a success? Can I have seconds? Thirds? Can I lick the crumbs?

Take the recipe and make it at home. And if you have any questions, ask your kids for help.

NJ to Allow Community Garden-Grown Vegetables in Public Schools

If New Jersey can do it, so can we!

The New Jersey General Assembly unanimously approved a bill on Monday that will allow state schools to serve produce grown in community gardens.

“Community gardens are an untapped resource to provide healthy, low-cost snacks for our state’s children, especially those living in food deserts,” said Assemblyman Gilbert Wilson, the Camden County Democrat who drafted the bill, in a press release. “We need to create multiple opportunities to combat childhood obesity, which is plaguing the children living in our urban areas.” Read more...